Vietnam gains two entries on UNESCO regional documentary heritage register
The collections in Ninh Binh and Hung Yen contain rock inscriptions and stone steles recording centuries of literary, social and commercial history.
Two collections of inscriptions from Vietnam have won unanimous approval for inclusion on UNESCO's Memory of the World Regional Register for Asia and the Pacific. They comprise carvings on Non Nuoc Mountain in Ninh Binh Province and stone steles from Pho Hien in Hung Yen Province.
The decision was announced in Jakarta, Indonesia, during the November 2-6 meeting of UNESCO's regional Memory of the World committee, MOWCAP. Vietnam now has 13 documentary heritage items recognised by the programme: nine regional entries and four international entries. Representatives of 40 member countries attended the meeting, which considered 24 nominations.
At Non Nuoc Mountain, 43 inscriptions were cut directly into rock between the 14th and 20th centuries. Their texts use Chinese characters, the Vietnamese demotic script Nom and modern Vietnamese, covering poetry, literature, historical accounts and royal writings. The collection includes Duc Thuy Son Linh Te Thap Ky, written by Truong Han Sieu and carved in 1343.
Pho Hien's collection contains 41 steles with Chinese and Nom inscriptions, the earliest from the 17th century and the latest from the early 20th century. Preserved across historic sites in the Pho Hien special national relic complex, they record the former international trading port's development, commerce, society and exchanges with other cultures.
